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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25526974">The Astronomy Tower</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpuffyCarrie/pseuds/SpuffyCarrie'>SpuffyCarrie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Awkward Romance, Complete, F/M, Fluffy Ending, Light Angst, Some Humor, Swearing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:53:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,492</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25526974</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpuffyCarrie/pseuds/SpuffyCarrie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After losing at a Game of Wizards Chess with Blaise Zabini. Draco Malfoy is spellbound to want to kiss the first witch he sees.<br/>A short unbetaed one-shot, all mistakes are my own.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>152</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Astronomy Tower</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable music, characters, settings, pictures etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  
</p><p>"Let’s make it a little more interesting, shall we?" Blaise sat back in his seat, taking his newly won pile of galleons from the table. </p><p>It was after midnight in the year eight common room and everyone else had gone to bed.</p><p>"No, you've cleared me out Zabini, I'll have to go to Gringotts this weekend to obtain some more funds," Draco replied jovially as he poured them another glass of firewhiskey. Both wizards were so rich, they called the amount they played for pocket change when it would have fed poorer wizarding families for a month. </p><p>"A wager then?" Blaise smirked. </p><p>"What did you have in mind?" Draco rolled his eyes, knowing Zabini was likely to come up with the most ridiculous stunt he could think of. </p><p>He took out a small bottle from his jacket pocket and twirled it between his fingers. "A love potion with a twist." </p><p>"Dear Godrick, I knew you always fancied me, but drugging me to be with you, that's just sick, Zabini." Draco snorted. </p><p>"Fuck off, Malfoy. Whoever loses gets to drink this and they are sent out into the hall to find the first witch of age who passes. The effects won't wear off until you get her to snog you." </p><p>"I don't know how I get myself caught up in your schemes, but it will be amusing to watch you trying it on with some witch, like McGonagall."</p><p>Blaise clapped his hands and rubbed them together. </p><p>“Your move, Malfoy.”</p><p> </p><p>  ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~</p><p> </p><p>"You're a bastard, I know you cheated!" Draco complained as Blaise passed him the potion. "Well, I'm not taking it so you can just bloody drink it yourself." </p><p>"Oh, ho, no way! Drink it or I'll make you." He laughed. </p><p>"What? Like you could make me." Draco scoffed. </p><p>"No? I've been chatting with a certain brunette Gryffindor Head Girl who might find it quite interesting to know about your crush." </p><p>"You couldn't convince her of anything, she'd never believe you." Draco tisked.</p><p>"You think? There's such a thing as muggle recording equipment, you can thank a sixth year Hufflepuff girl I know. " </p><p>Blaise played back a voice recorder. </p><p>"Granger...oh, fuck yes." Draco’s voice played back, followed by a snore and a snort.</p><p>"You wouldn't?" Draco raised an eyebrow. </p><p>"I absolutely would. Did you forget we share a dorm and that you talk in your sleep?" </p><p>"That's it, I'm turning your bed into grass and fucking toadstools, you git." Draco drank the potion. "Ugh, you could've at least made it taste nice." </p><p>"It's the results that matter. Now, off you go." Bliss turned Draco by the shoulders and pointed him towards the doorway.</p><p>"It’s after midnight, how many witches are likely to be out of bed?" Draco complained. “If I wanted a midnight stroll, I would’ve just taken one.”</p><p>"Just don't come back until you've found your witch." Blaise pushed him out into the vacant hallway. </p><p>As Blaise closed the door he chuckled darkly. They'd been in the common room all night and Granger hadn't yet returned from patrol. The bottle had contained water mixed with an earwax Bertie Botts flavoured bean. </p><p> </p><p>  ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~</p><p> </p><p>"Really?" Hermione pulled back the curtain to an alcove well known as a snogging spot. "It's gone midnight, ten points from both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor." </p><p>"You're harsh Granger, and to one from your own house." The fifth-year, Troy Purvis, accused. </p><p>"I'd have no need to be if you weren't out hours after curfew, Purvis, you know the rules." She replied.</p><p>"Then what about him," Troy pointed at the unmistakable white-blonde hair of Draco Malfoy as he wandered down the revolving staircases, "or do the eighth year students get away with murder on your watch?" </p><p>Hermione narrowed her eyes, "I suggest you go to bed, now! Before I have you up before McGonagall. Malfoy was cleared of any wrongdoing and you know it!" She wanted to say more but held her tongue before she slapped the shameless sod for his little hate speech.</p><p>"Alright we will, but Merlin, Granger, you need a good shag, you’re so uptight." He shot her a look of contempt as they walked away. </p><p>She decided to keep her mouth shut and her wand holstered, however much she wanted to hex the little shit.</p><p>Anyway, the chance would be a fine thing, Hermione thought. She and Ron had never really become anything more than friends and no boy would come near the golden girl now they were back at school. She missed Harry and Ron. Things would be different if they were here. For example, she wouldn't be patrolling alone on a Friday night because Head Boy, Theodore Nott, was sick.</p><p>Something was niggling in her mind. Oh, yeah, Malfoy. What the hell was he doing out of the dorms at this time of night? When she left for patrol, he and Blaise had been playing wizards chess and drinking firewhiskey. That was probably something she should've deducted house points for, but everyone had their crutch after the war and who was she to say how they got through life in the aftermath? She struggled herself, especially with bad dreams and loneliness. </p><p>She followed Draco as he wandered the halls and made his way up to the astronomy tower. She was worried about him when he scaled the stairs, so she continued to follow. She had been concerned for his welfare since she and Harry stood up for him at his trial, he'd looked like he hadn't eaten for months and he had dark rims under his eyes. </p><p>Standing in the darkness, she watched him move toward the rail and take a deep breath and let out a sigh. </p><p>"Stupid hair, stupid gorgeous hair and stupid brown eyes that contain crazily fascinating galaxies and supernovas." She heard him mutter. </p><p>Hermione watched him with amusement, he was clearly a bit drunk. It was nice to see him let go, he was always so strait-laced, his shoulders so set and tense. </p><p>Draco Malfoy was hot and had this tragic, classical antihero thing going on which had her spellbound since the beginning of the school year. He reminded her of Heathcliff or Mr Rochester as he stomped around scowling. The strange thing was his face only softened when he saw her, and he always glanced away quickly. This had been going on for months. </p><p>Sharing a common room meant she got to know everyone who returned for eighth year but him, and though Blaise was always singing his praises, telling her what a decent bloke Malfoy was and how she shouldn't judge him by his past, he never approached her. Because of this, she left him in peace, he obviously didn’t want to. If Zabini had of known her better, he would realise she didn't judge Malfoy, she knew how hard things had been for him, that there was no need to big him up to her.</p><p>He kicked a stone pillar, "Granger, with her sexy mouth and hot brain. Grr, what is wrong with me, she'll never want me, I'm too bloody far gone for her to love me." He kicked it thrice more.</p><p>Wait, what? Hermione almost gasped out loud. He wanted her to love him. No, he was just drunk, he would never have said anything of the sort if he was sober. Tangling her fingers together anxiously, she wondered whether to make her presence known or to just leave but leaving Malfoy in a high place alone after all that had happened here, concerned her. </p><p>He grasped the bars with both hands and dropped his head, muttering to himself. </p><p>"Don't I get a say in this?" She steeled herself and stepped out into the light of the moon. </p><p>"No, because you're not here," Draco said out loud. So many times, he wished she was there to converse with him and now was no different, he heard her voice as clear as day. </p><p>"Um, I think I am." She chuckled as he turned, his back to the rail, his hands on either side. </p><p>"Nah," he kicked his feet against the planks on the floor, "you're a figment, you're too prissy to be here alone with a boy - err, I mean - man alone after dark." He stumbled over his shoes and quickly righted himself.</p><p>Something about what the boy downstairs had said about her being uptight made her march right up to Draco and grab his shirt collar. </p><p>"Real enough for you?" She demanded.</p><p>He gulped, "Err, yes, sorry Granger." </p><p>"Thanks for noticing," she released him and took a step back, turning to walk away. This was too weird, and she wasn't sure she wanted to stay now. She felt like a fool, he was just drunk and would return to himself in the morning when sober.  </p><p>Draco cleared his throat, reaching out to clasp her wrist gently as she walked away, "If It means anything, I've always noticed you, wanted to protect you, how could I not? You're perfect." </p><p>She stopped, feeling no urge to pull away, his touch was warm and his fingers soft. </p><p>"We haven't spoken since the beginning of term. You've spoken to everyone else apart from me," she turned back and gently took his hand in her own, "why?" </p><p>He couldn't meet her eye, "It wasn't because I didn't want to, I just thought you wouldn't want to know me. I was desperate to know you, I've always been desperate to know you from the first day I saw you, but we got off on a bad foot that day and my father was a prick." </p><p>"Yeah," she smiled, "he was much more than that, but you tried to be what he wanted you to be and I saw that; even Harry did eventually." She let go of his hand and moved to lean against the rail beside him, chuckling. </p><p>Draco was silent, he didn't know what else to say. He wanted to kiss her in the pure Scottish air and under the star-filled sky. He didn't ever expect to be here again when he last left this place, terrified after his headmaster fell to his death and continuing to live in terror after. </p><p>He leaned his head back, feeling the wind pick up against his neck. "Do you think Dumbledore knows I'm sorry?" He asked her. </p><p>"Harry thinks he knew you were coming, and that you had no real intention of doing it." She replied. "I know he forgives you. We found out afterwards, it was always his intention that Snape would end him. He was dying anyway, perhaps this way was more merciful." </p><p>Draco, turned his head to the sky and saw she was doing the same, looking up and revelling in the air which flowed across them, it seemed to also make her feel alive too and he liked that.</p><p>"He tried to help me that night and if I hadn't let the others in, it would've been a different situation, I would have backed down, Granger, fuck, I backed down anyway." He hung his head. "He commended me on finding a way for them to get in, said I was clever." </p><p>"I know. You broke my heart when you left with them, I'd always thought more of you, I told Harry and Ron you weren't a Death Eater over and over, I-I made a fool of myself." She admitted, her voice cracking. </p><p>"What? No, you weren't the fool, I was the fool." He pushed off the rail and stood inches away from her, "Hermione," he breathed as he reached for her hand, "thank you for believing in me. I'm so sorry about that and I'm so sorry for everything that happened at the Manor that day. If I could've stopped it, I would have, I would've destroyed the bloody Manor to get you out of there." He covered his mouth with his hand, rubbing his chin as it wobbled. </p><p>She wanted to hug him, but she wasn't sure whether she should reach out, "I would have never been at your trial if I didn't believe in you, or if I didn't believe you were sorry for what had happened, Draco. I read the Prophet as they targeted you above others, even your father, it angered me and when Harry said he wanted to help you, I agreed. We supported our fellow schoolmates because we knew you had no choice. We'd lost so much, all of us." </p><p>"We felt safe here once." He said sadly.</p><p>"Yeah, it was a place we could weather the storm in." She smiled up at him. He'd grown so tall she felt tiny in comparison. </p><p>"Hermione, I want to kiss you." He murmured, dipping his head. </p><p>She bit her lip, "I'm not stopping you, Draco." </p><p>"I like it when you call me Draco." He moved closer, his hand hesitating before he placed it on her hip. "I've been waiting for this for a long time." He cupped her face, angling it as he moved closer, his lips barely brushing hers. </p><p>"Me too," she gushed, standing on her tiptoes to reach up as he further lowered his head. </p><p>His lips met hers and he pulled her flush against his body. Once he'd thought it might never happen but now it was and he didn't give a fuck what Blaise said, or what the potion meant, she was here, and he wanted her. He felt no different to normal, only a little drunk on alcohol and intoxicated by her.</p><p>Their lips met in a frenzy and both ruined each other as their lips met. It was like they were living in a different time or place. Nothing mattered as they grasped and pawed and nipped as they broke each other down, shattered into pieces under the stars on the Astronomy Tower. </p><p> </p><p>  ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~</p><p> </p><p>Blaise was drinking the last of the firewhiskey when Draco returned to the common room, his hair a spiked mess. He sat down beside his friend with a thump. </p><p>"Everything alright, Malfoy?"</p><p>"Ugh." He grunted, his eyes glazed and his cheeks a bright red against his pale face. </p><p>“That good, eh?” Blaise commented. </p><p>Granger ran timidly inside, hoping not to be noticed as she headed for Blaise and Draco's dorm. </p><p>"Granger," Blaise called over his shoulder with a smirk.</p><p>"Zabini." She replied in a high-pitched squeak as she ran up the stairs to his and Malfoy's dorm room. </p><p>Blaise bit his lips to stop himself from laughing. He sipped on the last of his drink. "So, you and Granger then?"</p><p>"Fuck off dickless." Draco rose and followed her. "Oh, and by the way, you're on the sofa tonight."</p><p>"Bugger," Blaise replied as his friend followed Hermione to their quarters. He tried to feel regretful for bringing them together, but as he made himself comfortable on the lumpy sofa, he wondered instead if he should start shagging the pretty witch who shared her dorm with Hermione. It didn’t look like he was getting back in his room anytime soon.</p><p> </p>
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